Your favorite bakery-style muffin, upgraded with tangy sourdough starter (discard or active), fresh blueberries, and bright lemon zest with vanilla. Moist and fluffy inside, with a perfectly crunchy top. Let the batter rest overnight and bake fresh in the morning. Yes, really!
Blueberry muffins are classic. Everyone loves them. After years of perfecting recipes- from blueberry cornmeal muffins and buttermilk blueberry crumb muffins– I finally nailed my favorite sourdough discard version.
These muffins are soft yet sturdy, perfectly moist, with bursts of juicy blueberries in every bite. The outside has a lightly crisp crunch, while subtle hints of lemon zest and vanilla add a fresh brightness that will make your heart sing!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Convenient Prep: Mix the batter, portion into a muffin tin, and chill overnight. In the morning, bake fresh muffins straight from the fridge for an easy, zero-effort homemade breakfast in under 30 minutes.
- Flavor: The slow overnight fermentation deepens flavor and enhances digestibility thanks to the added sourdough
- Texture: Balanced softness with a satisfying tender crumb
Tips for Success:
- All sourdough starters are different. The consistency of yours (thick vs. thin) will determine the texture of the muffin batter. Aim for a semi-thick batter similar to plain yogurt. This texture will suspend the berries evenly throughout the muffins, and fortify the overall structure once baked. If your batter is too thin, add more flour. Too thick, add more milk.
- Fresh is best. Compared to frozen blueberries, fresh blueberries they hold their shape better and they are not as wet and mushy after a lengthy, overnight fermentation.
- Zest or citrus oil? I’ve been playing around with citrus oils in my baking, specifically lemon and orange, and I’m in love. First, they’re super convenient to have on hand especially when you don’t have any lemons or oranges to zest. Second, a little bit goes a long way. They are very concentrated. I use Doterra citrus oils. King Arthur Baking also sells them.
How To Make Sourdough Blueberry Muffins {Step-By-Step Recipe}
- To start, combine the dry ingredients together. Mix sourdough starter and milk in a separate small bowl; set aside. Then cream the butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest together, adding the eggs one at a time- I like using a stand mixer for this. Alternatively, you can mix by hand. Just make sure the butter is truly at room temperature (soft) so that it’s easy to do!
- Now, alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk. Add the fresh blueberries.
- Portion the batter into a muffin tin lined with paper cups. Choose to bake right away or ferment overnight. To bake: 375°F (190°C) for about 25-28 minutes, then cool before serving and dusting with powdered sugar. The are so light and delicate!
Note: for the purpose of this blog post, I transferred the muffin batter into a large blue bowl pictured above so you could see the texture better. You do not need to do this if using a stand mixer.
By signing up, you agree to receive emails from The Clever Carrot. Unsubscribe at any time.
Moist Sourdough Blueberry Muffins (Overnight Option)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 28 minutes
- Total Time: 38 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Sourdough Discard Recipes
- Method: Oven-Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Your favorite bakery-style muffin, upgraded with tangy sourdough starter (discard or active), fresh blueberries, and bright lemon zest with vanilla. Moist and fluffy inside, with a perfectly crunchy top. Let the batter rest overnight and bake fresh in the morning. Yes, really!
Ingredients
- 200 g all purpose flour (1 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 60 g sourdough starter (active sourdough starter or sourdough discard)
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 115 g (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature (soft)
- 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 large eggs
- 165 g (1 heaping cup) fresh blueberries, plus more for decoration
- Powdered sugar, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 F/ 190 C. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
- Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl; set aside.
- Whisk the sourdough starter and milk together in a separate small bowl; set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or by hand with a wooden spoon): cream the butter, sugar, vanilla extract and zest together. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Working in batches, add 1/2 of the flour mixture. Once absorbed, add half of the milk mixture. Repeat until everything is used up and the batter is smooth and well incorporated.
- Gently fold the blueberries into the bowl with a rubber spatula. Make sure to evenly distribute the berries throughout the batter (check the bottom of the bowl!).
- Fill the muffin pan, about 3/4 of the way full. Top with a few berries if you like, making sure to tuck them in so they don’t pop out during baking.
- At this point, you can bake right away or chill overnight, for 12+ hours.
- To bake now: place the tin on the center rack and bake for 25-28 minutes.
- To bake later: remove the tin from the refrigerator; discard the foil. Bake straight from cold for 25-28 minutes.
- Cool the muffins in the pan for 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling so the bottoms don’t get soggy.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with powdered sugar.
Comments
Denise O'Connell says
These were the best Blueberry muffins I have ever baked. My family loved them!!!
Jimok Pak says
I have a lot of leftover dried blueberries from previous baking. Can I use dried blueberries instead of fresh ones? Do I need to adjust any of the ingredients?
Emilie Raffa says
Hi! Yes, you can definitely use dried blueberries instead. Off the top of my head, you might want to soak them in hot water and/or a splash of vanilla extract to plump them up prior to baking. This is something that I do often when baking with dried fruit.
Amber says
I really enjoy all your recipes. Thank you for doing all the hard work and letting us enjoy the results!
A few things I changed: I add 2 scoops of vanilla powder (minus that weight in flour), I add half Greek yogurt/half milk to equal the weight. I also reduce the sugar to about 1/4 cup. My kids love it and it adds extra protein.
Emilie Raffa says
Amber, I love this variation. Thank you for sharing! Going to give it a try.
Amber says
I missed a word in my post….I add vanilla protein powder.
Linda H says
OMG! I tried this recipe and the muffins were out of this world wonderful! Crunchy top ( I sprinkled with sparkling sugar instead of powdered sugar) and very moist wonderful inside! Thank you for a wonderful recipe that I will make many times!
Dinny Bedard says
I bookmarked this recipe as “Best SDD Blueberry Muffins” on my phone. They are SO SO yummy. I had made these a few times and it seems to taste better each time! I always do same day. Can I freeze them, Emilie?
Thanks again for all your recipes; they are my go-to when I have an itch to do some baking :)!
Ashley says
These taste as good as any bakery I’ve been to. Loved them and will keep coming back to them. Thank you.
Yvonne says
I adore your recipes!! This muffin recipe is fantastic, I’ve used it several times and it’s always perfect and everyone loves them. I just made another batch but with cranberries, walnuts and orange zest. I use the overnight
method and it smells so good!! Can’t wait to bake in the morning! Yum!
Zoe says
Not a hint of a lie – these are the best muffins I’ve ever made. They’re so soft and light and spongy, and so flavourful! I’ve made 6 batches in 3 weeks. My pants aren’t happy with me but my mental health is soaring.
5/5. No notes. Incredible recipe.
Emilie Raffa says
6 batches in 3 weeks? That’s incredible! Your comment made me laugh… I so get this. 🥰
Deborah says
I love the recipe and used a really good sourdough starter which was very active. They taste good slightly crunchy and brown on the outside. Edible however I would not call them light and fluffy they were a little more on the rubbery texture side.
Kirsty says
Hi, should these be covered with anything, e.g. cling film/aluminium foil, while they’re waiting in the fridge? Thanks
Roxanne says
Yummy! Made before and enjoyed, but this time used frozen cranberries and added walnuts. Cranberries are tart but I like them and they held shape well even with long 24 hour ferment. I am usually gluten free (not Celiac) but I am able to eat these without reacting to the gluten due the fermentation.
Grace says
I’ve made this recipe once and loved it, thank you for a great recipe! I am using frozen blueberries and wondering if I can ferment the batter overnight in the fridge before adding blueberries? So in the recipe instructions, I would put the batter in the fridge after completing Step 5.
Jill Y says
Divine. So yummy! I made petite muffins. I always add cardamom in my baking because I love the flavor of it adds. Will be making these again!
jane says
the best blueberry muffins ever. Having the sourdough starter/discard as an ingredient adds depth. It’s a winner. Now to try your other recipes.
Lyn Collins says
I love this recipe. I use frozen berries and the muffins will be my go to recipe. They freeze well and 30 seconds in the microwave they come up like they’ve just come out of the oven. Thanks.
Emilie Raffa says
Sounds fantastic! Thanks, Lyn. 🥰
Sierra Hoover says
These were the best blueberry muffins we have ever had! Between the 4 of us we ate a whole batch in one setting😆
Emilie Raffa says
Ahhh thank you! I totally get this. Same happens to us in our house too! 🥰
Maria says
This is the most moist and tasty recipe I’ve ever had. I used coconut sugar instead of regular sugar and what didn’t fit in 12 muffin tins I put in a loaf tin and it was amazing. Thank you
Mei Li says
Incredible! I’m not a blueberry muffin fan but these had me hooked. My family of 4 ate them in one morning. I have two toddlers and they both ate three each, which was actually an incredible win as they’re in their picky eating stage.
I did use frozen blueberries (I had frozen them myself last summer from our bushes, they weren’t store bought). Before folding them in, I patted them down with a papertowel and tossed in a bit of flour to keep them from sinking. Worked like a charm.
Rose says
Hi! Can I use orange olive oil to replace the butter? Thanks!
Andrea says
Can i double this recipe,
Carrie says
Can you substitute citrus oil for butter? You mentioned citrus oil , I don’t see it being used in the recipe. Thank you!
Stephanie says
I used this recipe for my mom who is on a special diet for SIBO. I swapped the butter for avocado oil and water for milk. I was very nervous about how they would come out but I was pleasantly surprised. I also adjusted my baking and did 425° for 5 minutes and 375° for 20 minutes because I wanted the tops to really puff up and dome. This is a fabulous recipe that did great with the modifications.
Jess says
Can we substitute the whole milk with oat milk?
Marianne Thomas says
The muffins are delicious and look beautiful. Great recipe.
Bree says
These came out amazing! This will be my new go to muffin recipe.
Debby says
Homemade Sourdough Blueberry Muffins are my new favourite muffin. So most and flavourful.
Lena says
My new go to recipe for muffins. They are super easy and delicious. Great texture and flavor. Thank you very much for creating and sharing this recipe!
Cherlyn says
These were divine – perfect flavor and texture!
Danielle says
I am new to sourdough and stumbled across Emilie’s website for discard recipes. She has become my go-to for all things sourdough! I’ve tried 3 different recipes and all 3 have been so freaking good! These blueberry muffins are no exception. My 3 and 5 year old can’t stop eating them! Thank you, Emilie for making the best recipes and for your detailed (and easy) instructions!
Emilie Raffa says
You are very welcome, Danielle! Your feedback is much appreciated and it means a lot! Thanks for taking the time to comment 🥰
Annemarie Torrez says
I did not have high expectations for this recipe. Frankly, I’m new to sourdough and was looking for a way to use the discard and had already made pancakes. I substituted avocado oil in the same weight measure for the butter, skim milk not whole and the best change was 1/2 cranberries and 1/2 blueberries. Outstanding muffin and my hat off the our creator of this recipe for a great muffin, albeit I took liberties. Make it!
Silvia says
Delicious! I couldn’t get lemons so I substituted with orange zest and tried a small portion of the batter with cranberries instead, which makes a fun little Christmas twist.
Ashley says
I am going to try this twist! Did you use just whole fresh cranberries?
Silvia says
I used whole cranberries I had bought fresh and then kept in the freezer for a year, and they turned out lovely. But I think fresh could be even better!
Hejin Haussmann says
These are delicious. I substituted 3/4C maple syrup instead of granulated sugar. My toddler loves these. Thanks for the recipe.
Barry Salaberry says
I just made your blueberry muffins.
I used active starter, and substituted 1/2 C Xylitol for the 1 C sugar.
The muffins are fantastic.
Thanks for providing the recipes.
Felishia says
Going to give these a try soon but I was wondering if I could take this batter recipe as a base and substitute different fillings? My family loves banana nut muffins, lemon poppyseed, morning glory muffins, carrot cake, zucchini, all kinds! We love muffins. So I was wondering if you think this base would hold up with different mix-in’s? Or if maybe this is an idea for another long-fermented sourdough muffin post for you?! don’t know. Would love to know what you think!
Jaimelyn says
Wondering the same thing? Banana chocolate chip? Banana nut?
Blondie says
Delicious and easy! We made one batch of blueberry and one batch chocolate chip. Definitately a winner!
Mary says
These muffins are SO sweet. I decreased the sugar by half (100g for 12 muffins) and they’re still too sweet. I barely taste blueberries and I don’t taste lemon at all. 3 stars because I had make so many modifications: decrease the sugar by half, added cinnamon, lemon juice instead of zest or oil, half butter/half coconut oil, and I fermented overnight but added the baking soda and blueberries in the morning and scooped into the tins at that point. The end result was delicious!, but indulgent and very modified from the recipe as written.
Emilie Raffa says
Hi Mary! Yes: very modified from the original recipe. But thank you for sharing, and I’m glad you made it work to suit your preference 🥰
Pina says
Can neutral oil be used instead of butter?
Vicky says
I’m going to try this today with some of my sourdough discard. If I’m using lemon essential oil instead of zest, how much should I substitute? Thanks!
Emilie Raffa says
Hi Vicky! I use 3 drops of DoTerra lemon oil. That’s my preference. But lemon oil is strong, so use between 1-3 drops to suit you taste.
Vicky says
Thanks so much! I have DoTerra oil also.
Susan Cochran says
WONDERFUL AS ARE ALL THE RECIPES!!
Emilie Raffa says
Thank you SO MUCH Susan! Appreciate your kind words!
Patti M says
I use this book constantly! And I just made the blueberry muffins. I used buttermilk instead of whole milk. They came out great!!!
Nancy Louise McJunkin says
absolutely delicious. Maybe dust blueberries lightly with flour so they don’t sink to the bottom.
Used 1% milk.
Whitney says
Loved! Easy and delicious. Fun getting to use my sourdough starter. I used almond milk instead of whole milk and still turned out delicious!
Brinley Clark says
Can you freeze this batter after you make it?
Gibson says
These are the perfect sourdough muffin recipe! I made them and my family devoured them in a couple days – I’m now making more!
Kristi says
So good!!
Lisa M Kalinski says
Can I use Monk fruit sweetener in place of cane sugar in this recipe?
Emilie Raffa says
Ooo great question! I’ve never tried it, so I’m unsure. If you experiment though, please let me know and I’ll update the notes here :)
Jessica says
I used monk fruit and it worked great!
Nicky says
Hi Jessica would you mind sharing how much you used?
Mikelle says
I used 1/2 cup monk fruit and 1/2 cup sugar and it turned out great! I bet you could substitute the whole cup
Sandy says
I’m a total newbie using a sourdough starter and can’t wait to try this recipe. When using citrus oils, do you mean Essential Oils? And how much do you use?
Mel says
I think she means the zest of the lemon.
Rachel says
These muffins are amazing!!! This was my first sourdough recipe I have made. I am brand new to sourdough and needed to make something to hold off the hungry family while my sourdough bread was cold proofing in the fridge.
They were so moist and delicious! I was missing lemons, so I added cardamom instead. They turned out great! I woke up to them missing this morning because my dad took them all to the job site. I am already been getting requests to make more.
Thank you for such a great recipe!
Laura says
I really wanted a truly fermented sourdough muffin so I did change up the method of this a bit and the results were outstanding! I know there is the overnight option as presented here but I’m just not convinced that anything would truly ferment in my cold fridge overnight. So what I did was creamed the butter and then added the flour in 3 batches alternating with the milk and then scooped that out into a separate container. I worked with my hands a bit to make sure all the flour was incorporated. It felt almost too thick to ferment or rise but I did let it sit out overnight on the counter covered and the next morning it looked bigger and the texture was lovely. So then I proceeded to make the muffin batter with the rest of the ingredients – I used brown sugar instead of white and beat it, I added a splash of avocado oil because the rest of the fat is already with the flour and milk, just to help it cream up a bit. Added the eggs one at a time, the vanilla, the salt, baking soda, the lemon zest, then I add-libbed and put in a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon and a tablespoon of ground flax. Beated until smooth. Then I mixed in the sourdough flour mixture until completely combined, stirred in the blueberries and spooned into the muffin liners and baked as directed.
These are honestly the best, fluffiest, moist, most delicious muffins I have EVER had. It’s definitely this Clever Carrot recipe that makes them so good even without my changes because I tried another muffin recipe with a countertop flour sourdough ferment and they were nowhere near as good as these. I think it’s the butter!
Laura says
This is Laura again, SORRY I forgot to mention the starter. I mixed the starter with the milk and then incorporated with the flour into the butter in batches and let ferment. Next day did the eggs, sugar, soda, etc. This recipe is amazing and I’m sure it’s just as good with the authors overnight method.
Kiri says
Thank you so much for posting this as I was after a proper fermented muffin. I followed your instructions including the ground flax seed and added strawberries and chocolate and they turned out amazing. The only thing I did different was I beat the eggs and sugar together then added in the baking soda and fermented flour part. I did it in stages so not to overload the mixer.
James says
Delicious. These muffins are very good, and the recipe is easy. I really enjoy being able to use some of the sourdough discard in something rather than tossing it out.
I will repeat this recipe.
I did make a couple of substitutions, because of what was in the fridge. I used some leftover coconut milk instead of dairy milk, because it was running out of lifespan, and I used chocolate chips instead of blueberries because it’s spring break!
I think these would be even better with blueberries, so I will be trying that next time.